Nordic Roots

Scandinavian Roots

Scandinavian Roots originated under the guidance of Odd Andersen. Odd had wanted to try to bring together many of the artist’s that he knew or were familiar with that had a link to their Scandinavian Roots and a love of their Norwegian heritage. He brought together eight artists skilled in various fine arts and crafts in 2019. Their first show together as a group was at the Belski Museum in Closter, New Jersey and featured landscapes, wood carving, rosemaling, stained class, quilting, etc.

In this exhibition, called Nordic Roots, we bring together three of these artist’s, Odd Andersen, Tore Heskestad, and Lise Lorentzen, to share their work and the love they have for their art. Much of their work is based on their Norwegian Heritage. You will see a fine example of rosemaling, Norwegian and American Seascapes, viking ships and woodworking.

Odd Andersen

Born and raised in a Scandinavian neighborhood in Bay Ridge, Odd began drawing cartoons at an early age. At 15 he studied painting with a local artist who also ran an art supply store. He also studied a year at the Ridgewood New Jersey Art School in the 1980s, but mostly he is self-taught.

Many of the subjects of his maritime paintings come from black and white photographs. Even in retirement, he continues to draw inspiration for his paintings from the New York harbor. Andersen says the process of creating his paintings is as simple as seeing a photo, generating an idea, and then painting it. The paintings are never replicas of the photographs, but rather an adaptation with personal changes and additions.

Andersen has exhibited his works at the Belskie Museum in Closter, NJ, as well as various libraries in the area. His paintings have also been shown at the Scandinavian Club in Fairfield, CT, the Lake Placid Drama for the Arts in Lake Placid. In New York City he has exhibited his work at the Heritage Hall Museum in Brooklyn, Melville Gallery of the South Street Seaport Museum, The Swedish Seaman’s Church and a previously exhibit in the Trygve Lie Gallery in New York City.

Lise Lorentzen
Lise Lorentzen’s love for rosemaling began at the age of 11 during her first rosemaling class at the local Sons of Norway lodge on Staten Island. Since then, she has had the great fortune to study with many renowned Norwegian and American artist’s including Sigmund Aarseth, Karen Jenson, Dorothy Petersen, John Gundersen and Shirley Evenstad. In 2009, she completed a New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) folk art apprenticeship program studying under Eldrid Arntzen, a Vesterheim Gold Medalist and National Endowments of the Arts recipient.

Lise has been awarded nationally for her work and her art pieces can be found throughout the United States, Canada, and Norway. She continues to share rosemaling through her commissioned pieces, galleries, shows, social media and teaching. Lise has a BA in Art History and MS in Special Education. A former educator in New York City, she now resides in Maryland with her husband, three children and two dogs.

Tore Heskestad
Tore was born in Tvedestrand in Norway, and his family emigrated to the US in 1949. Even though his physical self left Norway, his emotional self never did. While attending Wagner College, he felt a craving to get to know the Norway he was missing out on and applied to the University of Oslo. He landed a job on a Norwegian freighter for a one-way trip to Antwerp in Belgium and drove his TR3 sports car to Oslo where he spent a year.

His artistic arts are probably genetically linked to his father, a self-taught artist. The graceful curves of the acanthus wood carving, which had a presence in their furniture and picture frames probably had an influence in nudging Tore towards rosemaling. The beautiful "bonde farger" found throughout Norway and his studies at the University of Oslo and travels in Norway aroused his interest. Tore took some classes with Eldrid Arntzen, which further heightened his interest. Being uprooted from Norway has only increased his interest in all things Norwegian. The Norwegian log home in his backyard reflects that, and once he enters the front door, he's visually in Norway.